As we enter day 809 of Putin's three-day "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine it's fair to say that things have not gone according to plan. That is, if there ever was a plan.
Source: The Guardian
Vladimir Putin has removed his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister in the most significant reshuffle to the military command since Russian troops invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
In a surprise announcement, the Kremlin said Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics, will replace Shoigu.
Putin, who was sworn into his fifth term as Russia’s leader earlier this week, proposed that Shoigu take the position as head of Russia’s powerful security council. It is currently led by Nikolai Patrushev, a hawkish former spy and one of Putin’s closest advisers.
Shoigu, Russia’s longest-serving minister, assumed leadership of the defence ministry in 2012 after his tenure as the emergency services minister. He has been leading Russia’s military through its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
As defence minister Shoigu was tasked with modernising Russia’s military and was believed to have direct access to Putin, going on regular hunting and fishing trips with him in Siberia.
Shoigu’s popularity in Russia grew after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, which he was credited with orchestrating.
It's telling that his replacement is an economist with no military background whatsoever. via BBC
Kremlin press spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the proposed appointment of a civilian showed the role of defence minister called for "innovation".
He said Russia was becoming more like the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when a high proportion of GDP went on military spending.
The last time they tried this it led to the complete collapse of the Soviet Union, so by all means, carry on.
The Russians do like to dress up.
